Many industries use hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) principles as part of their quality control and assurance programs. Many industries are required by law to collect and document HACCP data to ensure safety standards. For example, school food authorities (SFAs) are required by various laws and regulations to implement a food safety program for the preparation and service of school meals. These food safety programs are based on hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) principles, which is a systematic approach designed to reduce the risk of food borne hazards by focusing on each step of the food preparation process—from receiving to service. Food safety programs require SFA to collect and manage data for each critical control point in the flow of food process. One critical control point for food safety is temperature. Temperature must be collected and monitored for each food item during each stage of the flow of food process from receiving to service. Upon receipt, cold foods must be kept cold and hot foods must be kept hot. Food must be cooked or prepared at proper temperatures and held at proper temperatures. Food safety programs are required to collect, monitor and report HACCP temperature data for each food item at every critical step in the flow of food process.
Information systems have been developed to automate the collection and administration of HACCP data. These information systems use a variety of sensor and measurement devices to collect critical point data and computer databases to manage and analyze the data. While automation has streamlined many aspects of the collection and administration of HACCP data, conventional information systems used for HACCP data collection and administration have suffered in several areas. Conventional HACCP information systems are still time and labor intensive. Any particular quality control and assurance program may require an information system to collect and administer HACCP data for a number of unique processes, each of which may have its own set of unique variables and parameters. Consequently, the information systems must collect and store data from any number of sensors and measurement devices for any one process. These sensors and measurement devices may be distributed across a large physical area. While sensors and measurement devices have employed various wired and wireless communication technologies to enable the electronic transfer of data to the information center, these sensors and measurement devices only streamline the assembly of collected data. Frequently, sensors or measurement device needs to be configured for parameters of each unique process. When processes change, each sensor and measurement device must be reconfigured for the new process. The reconfiguration of each sensor or device is labor and time intensive. Again using school food authorities as an example, the HACCP data collected may change daily with the menu being served as well as for each food item. This means that reconfiguring sensors and measurement devices must be performed frequently at the loss of time and labor.
Data loss has also been a problem. Various electronic sensors and measurement devices have been developed to conveniently collect and store critical point data using a wide range of technologies. These devices then transfer or download the collected data to some central information center for analysis and administration. When data is stored in a sensor or measurement device, any mechanical or electronic failure of that device often results in the loss of any data previously collected, but not yet transferred to the central information center.